Activities which harm both self and other,
Such wicked actions! How awful!

Note: Please be aware that--in doing appropriate justice to the subject
matter--the video contains some graphic content portraying animal slaughter. If
you can stomach the violent and heart-wrenching images, you will find that the
song is incredibly beautiful and moving. This being so, I have tried to render
the translation appropriately to capture the grave and serious tone of the
Tibetan lyrics. Due to the dharmic nature of this song, the actual lyrics were
most certainly authored by a Lama (spiritual master), Khenpo (monastic
abbot/professor), or a Rinpoche (high-ranking spiritual master belonging to a
lineage of reincarnation)--the opening credits list the author as Trül Tashi
Gönpo (which sounds like a name befitting one of the above categories to me).
The Tibetan in this song is actually quite straight-forward and comprehensible
for a novice translator like myself, and thus warrants no explanatory
commentary on my part. However, just to clarify the first line of the second
verse for those of you who are unfamiliar with Buddhist cosmology, the
"six classes of sentient beings" refers to the six kinds of beings
which the Buddha identified as inhabitants of the desire realm (our world
system): hell-beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, demi-gods, and gods. This
song is quite rich with powerful and profound phrasings in Tibetan which I hope
I was able to do justice for everyone in the translation. Künga's emphatic and
soulful performance is also worth commending here--as always.

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Call of the White Crane

From the singing nomads of the grasslands of Amdo and Kham, to the nightclubs of Lhasa--and even including Tibetans in exile across the globe--we bring you some of the most incredible and inspiring Tibetan music videos for your listening and viewing pleasure. With our original translations of such wonderful and soulful music, it is our hope that people from all over can appreciate and connect with the voices of Tibet--crying out for their own people, their own land, and their own traditions. The 'Call of the White Crane' resonates through the voices of Tibet's pawo and pamo (heroes and heroines) who tirelessly work to lift the spirits of their people and ensure the longevity of their precious culture.